Savage Axis 2 in .308 accuracy problems
 

I have the gun with bull barrel and am having a heck of a time getting the accuracy down. I am using a Harris bipod for a rest and consider myself an above average shooter while using it. I am probably at right around a 5 to 6 MOA at 100 yards. I find this unacceptable. I have tried several different ammo and still no luck. Checked all screws on the scope and all is good.

I am however using the scope that came with the rifle from the factory. Could this be the problem? The stock is also seems pretty flimsy.

I am not wanting to put a ton of money into this thing so hoping some of the more knowledgeable folks on here might have some cheap and easy ideas or maybe have had the same problem and can point me in the likely direction for this platform.

Thanks in advance

Kelly

I would try a different scope. I would also try off front and rear bags. I have had issues with bipods on hard surfaces. I am betting on a scope problem.

Package deals equals cheap glass! Try another scope!

I agree. Most likely the scope

I'm going to throw a wrench out and guess it's the bi pod. Unless that rifle came with the Bushnell Banner scope. Then it's more than likely the scope. If you got the deal with the Nikon it's pretty doubtful it's the scope. As bpd said, try bagging it before anything else. Take the Pod off, bag it, that may very well solve your problem. I've seen/had a couple rifles that just wouldn't group worth a damn shooting off a pod but were insanely accurate off a bag. Some cheap tupperware stocks just don't react well to the pod attached. And causes some flexing in the stock which will greatly affect accuracy.

I believe the scope is a Weaver kaspa.

I did notice some flexing of the stock right where the Harris bipod attatches. I really hate to throw a bunch of money into it as I got it for a cheap rifle for the wife to hunt with when she decides to go. lol Just so happens we were drawn together for a good deer hunt in the panhandle of Oklahoma and 300 yrds shot is very probable. By the time I put a new scope and stock on it I could have bought a Rem 700 lol. Live and Learn I guess. Thanks for yalls help. I think ya backed up what I was thinking

In my younger days I thought of myself as frugal or practical. After I had a couple of cheap scope failures, I saw the light! (pun intended!) Most of today's cheaper guns are better made and are capable of very decent accuracy. Today, I'll take a cheaper gun, with quality glass every day of the week over the opposite!
I'm very skeptical of all "package deal" scopes, regardless of the brand! Good luck!

Last year, I tried to sight in my buddy's Savage edge or axis (cheap a$$ rifle) 223 cal. with a brand new Meopa 6 x 20 x 50 scope. The best I could do was 2 - 3 inches moa at 100. After several other members at my gun club shot it only one guy shot it a little better than I did. We discovered the trigger was close to 9 lbs

Got a Boyd's stock coming and will swap out the rail, rings and scope and see how it is. Hoping to at least get to 1.5" moa

kelly, did you check the screws on the bases? they could be a little loose and they could cause problems. also make sure the stock isnt touching the barrel. slide a dollar bill from the front of the stock toward the receiver to make sure it doesnt hang up anywhere. as others said the trigger could be the problem also.

Yea I checked and all is good. The stock however was another story lol. Just the weight of the gun sitting on the bipod was flexing the stock to where it just touched the barrel. I just got the new Boyds barrel in yesterday and swapped them out but I wasn't aware that it came with a plastic trigger gaurd and magazine catch. I have ordered an aluminum catch and a metal trigger gaurd and should be able to get out to the range with it hopefully next week. I am also on the hunt for a good deal on a mid level scope. The wife and I's anniversary is Sunday and I was actually getting this ready for her. She bought me the gun for Christmas and she is just getting into hunting with me so hopefully she will like it. Here is a pic of what I have so far.

i would invest in a quality scope such as Leupold or other name brand scopes. hope your wife is going to be sitting with a varmit special rifle as they tend to be a little on the hefty side. i have a Remington VS and i wont carry it around as far as distance. what caliber is the rifle? mines is 243 with a heavy barrel just for groundhogs. good luck with getting the rifle up and shooting.

Finally got out and shot it. Just with changing the stock the MOA has shrunk down to just over 1". Now to save up for a better scope and rings.

Kinda guessed it was the pod/forearm causing the problem. As I previously said, a lot of those cheap stocks just don't do well with anything attached to them. I'd just about bet if you just took the pod off you would have had the same accuracy as you got with the new boyds stock. Those cheap stocks are designed to handle just the weight of the barrel down on your hand. They just aren't made for weight hanging off the bottom. Glad you got it fixed up for your wife. Good luck.

I had overlooked this thread, but the bipod thing is an issue for the Axis for the reasons given. There are some tricks you can do with the old stock to stiffen it involving drilling and epoxying in some steel rods in the barrel channel. It will often help even if you don't use a bipod and it doesn't add much in the way of weight. On the Savage Shooters website, they have a tutorial for someone wanting to tinker with it. I did it on a 22-250.